Despedida
Yo turbulencia y rayo entre naranjos,
azahar rojo sangre en la blancura,
galera adentro de la incertidumbre.
Yo infancia terminal, primeriza en adioses,
la piel recién mudada, la cadera sinuosa
de una mujer casi, pelusa el pelo casi,
igual que desprendido de un capullo de seda.
Yo sandalia en verano por los cuarenta grados.
Por las aulas, gacela solitaria
en la sabana de aquel instituto.
Yo en peligro tan lejos de la tribu,
animal sin manada, presa para el carnívoro.
Yo comprando un billete y subiéndome al tren,
maleta con mecano defectuoso,
prematura hojarasca, polizón de patera.
Una ciudad bolero lacerando los ojos,
un mordisco en la frente, una guerrilla
que dispara sus lágrimas al trámite.
Yo diciéndome adiós cautiva y desarmada.
Animal ma non troppo
De acuerdo. Me retiro a los confines
de mi bosque primario, al azar pantanoso
donde morir no es raro sino lógica
de la naturaleza, darwinismo sin ciencia.
Aquí estoy. Tan desnuda y esteparia;
sin más pelaje o patria que el granizo,
sin más templo ni dios que un camuflaje
para enfrentarme paria a la intemperie.
Me declaro culpable, presocial,
protozoo hibernando, penitente larvario
en mi Getsemaní de las afueras
con mi fonética oración de bicho.
Pero en fin, siempreviva, blanco móvil,
agua magmática, fósil de asalto,
fusil petrificado, la plaga financiera,
el polen más indómito, un brote de orogénesis.
Dos Poemas
Isabel Pérez Montalbán
Listen to "Farewell" read in the original Spanish by the author:
In many of her poems, including the two poems published here, Pérez Montalbán frequently references her struggle to overcome the many difficulties posed by poverty, her tragic family circumstances, and her total independence at a very young age. The primary challenge in translating these two poems was capturing the cadence and musicality of her voice. Her verse always retains a distinctive sense of rhythm and lyricism which, in her more emotionally disturbing poems, serves as a powerful antidote to despair.
Isabel Pérez Montalbán is a contemporary Spanish poet, author of fifteen collections of verse, and the recipient of multiple literary awards including the Premio Internacional de Poesía (2019). Born in Córdoba in 1964, Pérez Montalbán was raised in extreme poverty and suffered a difficult childhood and adolescence. When she was just three years old, her mother died by suicide, her alcoholic father abandoned his six children, and they spent years separated in many abusive foster homes. Four of her five siblings eventually succumbed to mental illnesses. She is the founder of a subgenre of Spanish poetry known as “Poetry of Conscience” and has made it her mission to address universal themes like poverty, injustice, inequity, and exploitation.
Elena Barcia is a film and literary translator born and raised in Los Angeles. During her career in the film industry, she translated hundreds of movies, from Hamlet to Harry Potter, and collaborated with directors like Martin Scorsese, Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuarón, and Alejandro Iñárritu on the subtitle translations of their films. Her translation of Miguel de Unamuno’s classic novel Niebla (Fog) was published by Northwestern University Press in 2017. Her poetry translations have appeared in Asymptote, Poetry International, Exchanges: A Journal of Translation, and The Harvard Review. In both 2021 and 2023 she was shortlisted for Poetry International’s Summer Chapbook Competition, and her translation of Chilean poet Malú Urriola’s book Cadáver exquisito (Cuarto Propio, 2017) was published by Valparaíso Editions USA in 2023 as Exquisite Corpse.
